IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

It’s a bad sign when the digital minister chuckles about the prominence of floppy disks at an overseas tech conference

Japan is known around the world for its technology – in high-speed rail, robotics and even toilets. Even watching the recent Bullet Trainoffers a glimpse into how Japan is perceived, with the film set on arguably the country’s most famous technological landmarks. The story is very different at home, however, with businesses and the public sector alike struggling to modernise. This struggle to digitally transform, which puts Japan at risk of restricting its future growth, is down to the government’s fragmented leadership, businesses in thrall to an archaic working culture, as well as a shortage of tech talent.

Japan launched a new agency on Wednesday to upgrade and overhaul of the country's digital systems.

The agency is located in central Tokyo, and has about 600 staff members. About 200 people have joined from the private sector.

The new authority will have wide-ranging powers, including the right to advise ministries and other agencies. It will oversee and control the government's information systems. It will be responsible for calculating and allocating related budgets.

Testing to begin this fiscal year with tender applications

Japan wants to use the data storage technology behind bitcoin and similar virtual currencies to update how individuals and companies interact electronically with government, aiming to bolster information security while cutting administrative costs.

Ungeachtet von Protesten hat Japan am Dienstag verschärfte Sicherheitskontrollen von ausländischen Besuchern eingeführt. Nach dem neuen Gesetz werden bei der Einreise Fotos gemacht und Fingerabdrücke genommen.

Japan’s parliament has passed an updated bill to pave the way for the creation of ‘super cities’ which use artificial intelligence, big data and other advanced technologies to improve mobility, disaster preparedness, healthcare and education.

The bill, which amends the National Strategic Special Zones Law, aims to remove regulatory hurdles and complexity which can delay or prevent the roll-out of smart city applications. Restrictions lifted due to the coronavirus pandemic could speed the bill’s adoption. For example, in April, Japan’s health ministry eased rules to allow first-time patients to receive medical examinations and prescriptions online or via telephone.

Of paramount importance here is that the Finnish government did not merely raise broadband Internet access as a policy goal, but instead designated it "a citizens' right." Even among fundamental human rights such as the right to existence, the right to freedom, and the right to own property -- considered "natural rights," social rights guaranteed by the state to spare its citizens of deficiencies or suppression, including the right to life, the right to an education, basic labor rights, and the right to work are a relatively new notion within the realm of human rights. Because of when they emerged, they are sometimes called 20th century rights.

During the meeting between the Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip and the Head of Japanese Government, Yuki Hatoyama that took place on the 15th of February, the discussion focused mainly on collaboration of public sectors for e-services with only minor mentions about other issues such as an intensification in the economic collaboration and communications.

The system will have an online, high-security ''post-office box'' that citizens can use to manage personal information online, such as checking the record of their payments into the public pension program and obtaining a copy of a residency certificate, it said.

Hiroichi Kawashima, former CIO of the Government of Saga Prefecture and currently one of the key committee members working on the project, says the Government is hoping to create a portal similar to that of the US Government’s data.gov.

Unified platform will share information among agencies to ease the burden

The Japanese government aims to slash the hours that companies spend on tax and other filings by more than a fifth through consolidating various government e-filing platforms.

Japan's nationwide computer network for resident registration, known as ``Juki Net,'' is due to come into full-scale operation Monday.

To streamline such procedures, relevant laws and ordinances are to be revised by the end of fiscal 2005, the source said.

Launched the previous August, it offers a nationwide computer network for centralized management of residents' information. Since it is an online system, an organization controlled by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications is able to make available personal information on all Japanese citizens for administrative use by ministries and other government departments. The data includes the person's name, address and an 11-digit identification number.

Accelerating broadband speed in this country – as well as in South Korea and much of Europe – is pushing open doors to Internet innovation that are likely to remain closed for years to come in much of the United States.

The region-specific service is named Regional WiMAX--an abbreviation of Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a new standard for wireless broadband Internet access.